Nobody allowed to interfere in customs affairs, President Ghani

KABUL: Chaired by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, a session was held to discuss collection of revenues and customs related issues.In the session held through video conference in Tawheed National Center and attended by governors, police chiefs, provincial NDS chiefs, customs officials for Herat, Nangarhar, Balkh, Nimroz, Kandahar, Farah, Faryab, Paktia, Paktika and Khost, deputy minister of customs and revenue for finance Najibullah Wardak delivered a report in this regard.He added that work on action plan has been followed after meeting of the country’s President with heads of customhouses so that the country’s revenues would reach in accordance to goals set by GIRoA.Deputy minister of customs and revenue considered problems in collecting revenue as well as levy and interference by a number of members of provincial council and national assembly, local powerful figures, traffickers, local officials and district governors as the most significant challenges which preventing from increasing and collecting revenue.After hearing the report, the country’s President said that Afghanistan domestic revenue should be administered in a better way and it is necessary to take decisive and overall steps in this regard.“Anybody including members of provincial council and national assembly interferes in customs affairs should be prosecuted and nobody has the right to interfere in customhouses,” President Ghani added.The country’s president asserted that customhouses should be equipped with security systems to identify those interfering in works of customhouses and regulation should be prepared to introduce presence of military individuals in customhouses, adding that measures should be adopted for protection of employees working in customhouses.President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani instructed provincial governors to create customs and revenue committees, regularly hold committees’ sessions and report their works to MoF.The Kabul Times